Eventhough at one point late in the game Dwight almost shockingly hit back-to-back FTs, I think we're still very fortunate the Mavs didn't go with this. Can you guys imagine the kind of game today going back & forth close all the way till the end if we would've had Dwight going to the line every possession? Surely we would've lost.

^ You're making it sound like they did actually go with the Hack-A-Dwight though, which they obviously didn't. It could've been a much different story and I know you know that. I'm surprised that they didn't considering how hot Kobe was and Nash as well. I guess they didn't wanna' go with their best chances of winning, lucky us.

This is a game where even though Dwight was not very good offensively, I believe he made a huge difference in the game. He had a team high +15 and whenever he went out of the game we were giving up rebound after rebound and they were scoring layup after layup.

And maybe it is just me, but after a game like this, I feel like Dwight has really matured since a few weeks ago. Dwight got up only 7 shots and 9 points. A few weeks ago he would be unhappy about his lack of touches, but now he is all smiles and giving props to guys like Kobe and Nash. When asked about Kobe after the game, Dwight said it was "fun" to watch him. Good sign for the offseason and the rest of this season. Dwight didn't allow his rough shooting night affect how he played defense.

By now, Dwight Howard’s struggles at the free throw line have been well documented. Currently shooting a career low 48% this season from the charity strike, Dwight’s performance at the line has been abysmal.

Many have wondered whether or not head coach Mike D’Antoni would consider sitting Dwight late in games to avoid him being fouled. If you ask D’Antoni, that isn’t an option.

“I’m not taking Dwight out. He’s too valuable. You take him out, like when they did hack-a-Shaq at the end … then defensively we can’t stop anybody,” said D’Antoni. “He’ll make his foul shots. I’ve got faith in him. If everybody plays hard and if that’s how we go down, then we’ll go down that way.”

On plays where the team needs a three, D’Antoni isn’t concerned about Howard getting caught with the ball — and sent to the free-throw line.

Dwight has 19 free throw attempts... This "hacka dwight" strat is the dumbest thing I have ever seen, they need to make a rule where if you foul a person off the ball and the team is in the penalty the team has the choice of choosing who to shoot the free throws. This game became boring as [expletive] in the last 4 mins.... 19 damn free throws at half time for 1 player??

It's not dumb, it's strategy. You should be mad at Dwight for missing so many gimmies instead.